THE SH’MA PROJECT FOR HOLOCAUST AND HUMAN RIGHTS ART AND EDUCATION
Suki John is working to recreate her evening-length dance work, or choreodrama, Sh’ma. Through the language of emotion, Sh’ma tells the story of one family’s experience in the Holocaust. Based on her mother’s harrowing journey from yellow star to deportation, concentration camp to refugee camp, stateless teen to American citizen, Suki originally choreographed Sh’ma in the former Yugoslavia. Not long afterwards, the horrific tragedy of the Bosnian war impelled Suki to tell her mother’s story again in New York, as new “Never Agains” reverberated across the globe. The ballet is being reimagined for the present moment, with an emphasis on reaching out to young viewers.
The Sh’ma Project is being designed as an artistic educational event. Suki will bring students and educators from Texas Christian University, professional dancers, and designers together with audiences across Texas. Special in-performance projections will help the viewers understand personal stories, historic context, and the action onstage. Student audiences will participate in pre and post-performance workshops, building a cohort to creatively address issues of antisemitism, exclusion, and othering.
We need your help to make this happen with the best dancers, educators and designers we can find! Suki is trying to raise the funds to pay the dancers for their hard work. Please contact TJAA if you would like to support this effort.
The Sh’ma Project is more than an artistic educational project, it’s a movement against hate.
We need your help to make this happen with the best dancers, educators and designers we can find! Suki is trying to raise the funds to pay the dancers for their hard work. Please contact TJAA if you would like to support this effort.
The Sh’ma Project is more than an artistic educational project, it’s a movement against hate.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP MAKE THE SH’MA PROJECT FOR HOLOCAUST AND HUMAN RIGHTS ART AND EDUCATION HAPPEN IN TEXAS, PLEASE CONTACT US HERE: INFO@TEXASJEWISHARTS.ORG |
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Suki John, PhD
TJAA Director of Dance
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Suki John, PhD, is the Texas Jewish Arts Association Director of Dance, and a Professor in the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance at Texas Christian University. Suki has worked internationally as a dance artist and scholar. Suki has choreographed for Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, Snug Harbor/Staten Island Center for the Arts, Narciso Medina, Danza Espiral, Ritmo Flamenco, Culture Project, Connecticut Repertory Theater, Adelphi University, Cuba’s Superior Institute of the Arts, NYU, TCU and the University of New Mexico. A widely published author, her book Contemporary Dance in Cuba: técnica cubana as Revolutionary Movement is a personal and scholarly account.
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Suki originally choreographed Sh’ma in the former Yugoslavia. Not long afterwards, the horrific tragedy of the Bosnian war impelled Suki to tell her mother’s story again in New York, as new “Never Agains” reverberated across the globe. Based on her family’s experience in the Holocaust, Suki has staged Sh’ma in Europe and New York, and shown excerpts at the New York Festival of Jewish Culture, YIVO, B’Nai Jeshrun, Fort Monmouth Army Base, and the Dallas Museum of Biblical Arts. She is recreating the choreodrama Sh’ma for the present moment. The choreodrama is the heart of The Sh’ma Project for Holocaust and Human Rights Art and Education, with an emphasis on reaching out to young viewers.
Adam McKinney - DNAWorks
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Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Professor Adam W. McKinney and I am the Co-Director and Co-Founder of DNAWORKS, an arts and service organization committed to healing through the arts and dialogue. I have had the great pleasure of offering programming for TJAA over the past few years.
I write to share with you an invitation to participate in one of our social justice and the arts projects entitled Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse (FWLT). FWLT is a bike and car tour to the Fort Worth sites associated with the 1921 lynching of Mr. Fred Rouse. We premiered the project in December 2020 in memory of the 99th anniversary of the lynching of Mr. Rouse. It was entirely successful—so much so, that we are bringing the tour back this spring with tours every weekend March 27-May 2 (Saturday bike tours, Sunday car tours). Additionally, we created an augmented reality app to support participants in better understanding this history and their roles in embodying anti-racism. The goal of the project is invite participants to build community, honor our history, and inspire change.
We very much welcome the participation of TJAA, and would be happy to organize a special tour for members. I would be happy to organize a call to answer any questions you might have. For tickets, visit DNAWORKS’s Eventbrite page.
Thank you and I look forward to the possibility of hearing from you soon.
Best regards,
Professor Adam W. McKinney
(414) 617-8777
Assistant Professor of Dance - TCU School for Classical and Contemporary Dance
Core Faculty - Comparative Race & Ethnic Studies Department
Affiliate Faculty - Women & Gender Studies Department
I write to share with you an invitation to participate in one of our social justice and the arts projects entitled Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse (FWLT). FWLT is a bike and car tour to the Fort Worth sites associated with the 1921 lynching of Mr. Fred Rouse. We premiered the project in December 2020 in memory of the 99th anniversary of the lynching of Mr. Rouse. It was entirely successful—so much so, that we are bringing the tour back this spring with tours every weekend March 27-May 2 (Saturday bike tours, Sunday car tours). Additionally, we created an augmented reality app to support participants in better understanding this history and their roles in embodying anti-racism. The goal of the project is invite participants to build community, honor our history, and inspire change.
We very much welcome the participation of TJAA, and would be happy to organize a special tour for members. I would be happy to organize a call to answer any questions you might have. For tickets, visit DNAWORKS’s Eventbrite page.
Thank you and I look forward to the possibility of hearing from you soon.
Best regards,
Professor Adam W. McKinney
(414) 617-8777
Assistant Professor of Dance - TCU School for Classical and Contemporary Dance
Core Faculty - Comparative Race & Ethnic Studies Department
Affiliate Faculty - Women & Gender Studies Department
Fort Worth Arts and Service Organization
Honors Black Man Lynched in 1921
Through Augmented Reality Bike and Car Tour
Fort Worth, Texas
For two weekends in December 2020, Fort Worth arts and service organization DNAWORKS debuted Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse. A first of its kind, Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse is a bike and car tour to four of the sites associated with the lynching of Mr. Fred Rouse on December 11, 1921. When asked about their experience, participant shared "During this tour I stopped to really examine and take in the significance of the landmarks visited. I saw places that I pass by every day without much thought through a new lens."
As part of the Tour, DNAWORKS developed an augmented reality app to support participants in identifying the exact sites associated with the lynching of Mr. Rouse. The app features creative responses by local and national artists who share their perspectives on the sites through music, dance, poetry, and visual arts.
“DNAWORKS is committed to our practice of memorial activism.” explains DNAWORKS Co-Founders/Co-Directors Adam McKinney & Daniel Banks. “This manifests in: bringing people together to participate in arts-based programs to remember histories of local and national oppression; and, through our storycircles, providing opportunities for audience members from a plurality of identities to listen to, learn from, and connect deeply with one another.”
Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse will return every weekend from March 27 through May 2, 2021. More information and ticket details can be found on the Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse Facebook Page as well as through DNAWORKS’s Website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse is Co-Sponsored by Fort Worth Bike Sharing and Tarrant County Coalition for Peace and Justice.
Honors Black Man Lynched in 1921
Through Augmented Reality Bike and Car Tour
Fort Worth, Texas
For two weekends in December 2020, Fort Worth arts and service organization DNAWORKS debuted Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse. A first of its kind, Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse is a bike and car tour to four of the sites associated with the lynching of Mr. Fred Rouse on December 11, 1921. When asked about their experience, participant shared "During this tour I stopped to really examine and take in the significance of the landmarks visited. I saw places that I pass by every day without much thought through a new lens."
As part of the Tour, DNAWORKS developed an augmented reality app to support participants in identifying the exact sites associated with the lynching of Mr. Rouse. The app features creative responses by local and national artists who share their perspectives on the sites through music, dance, poetry, and visual arts.
“DNAWORKS is committed to our practice of memorial activism.” explains DNAWORKS Co-Founders/Co-Directors Adam McKinney & Daniel Banks. “This manifests in: bringing people together to participate in arts-based programs to remember histories of local and national oppression; and, through our storycircles, providing opportunities for audience members from a plurality of identities to listen to, learn from, and connect deeply with one another.”
Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse will return every weekend from March 27 through May 2, 2021. More information and ticket details can be found on the Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse Facebook Page as well as through DNAWORKS’s Website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse is Co-Sponsored by Fort Worth Bike Sharing and Tarrant County Coalition for Peace and Justice.
About DNAWORKS:
Founded in 2006 by Daniel Banks, Ph.D., and Adam W. McKinney, M.A, DNAWORKS is a Fort Worth, Texas-based arts and service organization dedicated to dialogue and healing through the arts. DNAWORKS applies its award-winning arts process to dance, theater, and film, focusing on issues of identity, culture, class, and heritage, to promote dialogue-based social justice action and community building. The company has led programming and performances with arts, academic, and community organizations in thirty-seven states and seventeen countries. DNAWORKS believes that art = ritual = healing = community and that this philosophy and practice lead to a more peaceful world.
For more information or to schedule interviews, contact Jiles@dnaworks.org or 214-417-6095.
Founded in 2006 by Daniel Banks, Ph.D., and Adam W. McKinney, M.A, DNAWORKS is a Fort Worth, Texas-based arts and service organization dedicated to dialogue and healing through the arts. DNAWORKS applies its award-winning arts process to dance, theater, and film, focusing on issues of identity, culture, class, and heritage, to promote dialogue-based social justice action and community building. The company has led programming and performances with arts, academic, and community organizations in thirty-seven states and seventeen countries. DNAWORKS believes that art = ritual = healing = community and that this philosophy and practice lead to a more peaceful world.
For more information or to schedule interviews, contact Jiles@dnaworks.org or 214-417-6095.
Dance and Music Performances at the
TJAA / TSA Art Show Reception at the Eisemann Center
January 19, 2020
Music for the first piece is Winters, composed by Ayala Kalus. Music for the second piece is improvised by Sarah Price.
Dancers are Ally Elliot, Ally Z. Shives, Terrance Carson, Rose Kotopka and Suki John.
Musicians are Monika Idasiak, Benjamin Katzen, Lauren Koszyk, and Sarah Price.
Video by Rafael Cocchi.
Dancers are Ally Elliot, Ally Z. Shives, Terrance Carson, Rose Kotopka and Suki John.
Musicians are Monika Idasiak, Benjamin Katzen, Lauren Koszyk, and Sarah Price.
Video by Rafael Cocchi.